While learning I'm sure you've noticed how much your mind drifts off in thought.
I can't say enough how normal this is so please don't worry about it.
It's absolutely fine.
Contradictory to what a lot of people think,
In meditation we're not actually trying to stop thoughts coming in so that we have a completely clear mind.
Thoughts themselves are not a problem.
They're just thoughts.
It's only our reaction to them that causes an inner struggle.
As human beings we always have thoughts and in fact we need them to be in the world in a healthy way.
To reflect,
To have relationships with others,
To work,
To feel etc.
The nature of thoughts is that they arise,
They move through the mind and they dissolve away all on their own.
That is what they'll do if we don't interfere with them.
And the more we fuss with them or try and stop them,
The more entangled we get with them.
So the best thing is to just let them go.
Let them be as they are and gently bring your awareness back to your breath.
So what we're going to do in this session is I'll guide you gently into awareness of your breath and body and then whenever you notice you're caught up in thought see if you can let it go just like you're letting go of a helium-filled balloon.
So as if the entanglement with the thought is you holding on to the bottom of the balloon.
And as you notice you're entangled see if you can just let go of the balloon,
Let it drift off to wherever it wants to go and then gently bring your awareness back to the breath.
That's it.
It's all we're going to do and remember relax and enjoy yourself.
So as we begin,
Gently close your eyes and allow yourself to begin to settle.
Check that your back is straight but your body is relaxed and soft.
You don't need to hold yourself tight or rigid.
It's good to feel awake but relaxed.
We'll settle into the meditation with three deeper,
Longer,
Slower breaths together.
So take a deep full breath in through your nose,
Really filling your lungs and a long through your nose,
Really filling your lungs and a long slow breath out through your mouth as if you're breathing out through a fine straw.
Feeling your body relax as you do that.
Another deep full breath in through the nose and a long slow breath out through the mouth.
Feeling your body relax and unwind as you breathe out in through the nose and then slowly out through the mouth.
One more time in and slowly out.
Feeling yourself relax and ease.
And then just breathe naturally,
Noticing each breath in and each breath out.
And we're not trying to hold the awareness on the breath.
Allow yourself to be at ease with it and just notice.
That's all.
And when you notice yourself distracted in thought,
It's totally fine and completely normal.
You don't need to stop it or push it away but at the same time you don't need to get entangled with the story of it.
As you notice you're drifted in thought,
See if you can let go of the thought like you're letting go of a helium ball.
And then gently bring your awareness back to notice your breath again.
Notice the feelings and sensations of the air coming in and out of your nostrils and your throat.
Notice the feelings and sensations of your lungs,
Ribs and abdomen rising and falling with each in-breath and each out-breath.
And then slowly bring your awareness back to notice your breath again.
Rising and falling with each in-breath and each out-breath.
And again at some point you'll probably notice you've drifted in thought again.
That's fine,
No worries.
As you notice it,
See if you can let go of the thought like you're letting go of the balloon.
Let it drift off and then gently again bring your awareness back into feelings and sensations in your body as you breathe.
There's no need to judge yourself and there's no need to try and stop it.
Just let it be as it is.
We don't want to change anything.
Just gently come back to the breath.
Come back to the feelings and sensations of your lungs,
Ribs and abdomen.
Rising and falling with each breath.
Let the rhythm of it soothe you and slowly feel your body relax.
Try that on your own now for a few moments.
Follow the breath coming in and out of your body.
And whenever you notice you're distracted,
Let it go and gently come back to the breath.
Within the body.
That's it.
So there you go.
That's all you ever need to do with any distractions.
We're not trying to stop them.
We're just letting them take their natural unfolding course without getting entangled with them in any way.
They will arise,
Move through and dissolve away on their own.
That is their nature.
So as you get used to not doing anything with the distractions and just letting them move through,
You will find that you will gradually feel more steady in your meditation.
Give yourself the time that you need and feel free to practice this as much as you need to.
It's a wonderful thing that you're doing so let yourself enjoy it.
This meditation is from my course,
Learn to Meditate and Self-Explore,
Where I gradually take you through the steps starting right from the basics of learning to meditate,
Learning to connect with yourself and begin to self-explore.
So if you'd like to go through that process with me step by step,
You can take a look at the course.
Thank you.
